The MS 230 was on EBAY in December o5 , but reached only $45,000, which was $105,000 short of the reserve price.

The advert tempted potential buyers with the prospect of a re-make of T.B.M !

Just started.

Lots of Tiger Moths in warpaint, replicas and a Morane 230. Good film.

JCB, 10 yard ditch, a few posts and a big sheet of sacking.

Of course, that would not really do for the ladies. Better plant some bushes for them.

Never saw the Clown’s outfit…

Not a bad turnout, given the grotty viz, and a good effort by all the flyers.

The best display item was the Chinook (again) which managed to avoid repeating the Reliant Robin impression of last year-Three wheels on my wagon etc.

The ‘Fantastic Plastic’ Tutor was pretty good as well, performing very enthusiastic vertical flicks at about 800 feet, and generally chucking it around with gusto, including an outside loop.

The P40 got a flat tyre, but was pumped up and sent on its way. Hopefully it got back down at N.Weald OK.

LOST PROPERTY DEPT>
Two of the Tigers fumbled in from White Waltham this morning, with the lead pilot fluttering his silk scarf in the breeze. As it happens, there was rather too much fluttering, and it detached from the pilot and the aeroplane, and fell from sight.

When they arrived at Abingdon, there was a message that someone had seen it fall to earth, had guessed where they were heading, and would keep it safe until it could be collected!

There will be plenty of forumites on site, by the sound of things.

What about a meet, by the Pembroke (say) at 13.00 hrs.

Wear a traffic cone on your head, for ident, or roll up left trouser leg , or something.
Any suggestions ??

The Rapide was operated by Monique Agazarian (spelling?), an ex ATA pilot, who later ran an Instrument Flight Sim facility at Booker. Retired in 1985 or thereabouts.

It is ‘Positive Thinkers’ who get things done, but it is pure fantasy if you ignore the harsh realities of this project.

1- There are no funds left for the existing work required, let alone the future engineering bills.

2 There are no funds to meet the operating costs, which may be £15,000 per hour or more.

3 There is NO way of meeting these operating costs through airshows, or any other presently forseeable activity.

This is not a case of ‘should we stop now?’ . It already has stopped, and everything else is just ‘re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic’. If we all raffled our grannies, we could generate a bit more cash, but the final outcome will be unchanged. Follow the money trail, if you want to find out who has a vested interest in keeping the tap on as long as possible.

There is a very interesting piece on the All Aviation Flightline Online, describing Ladd Gardner’s forced landing. Just type in Ladd Gardner in Goggle, and it is the first ‘hit’.

When you get to the religious bit, you can always skip through it, if it is not your thing!